(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
A few weeks ago, I reviewed my first KWZ Ink - Honey. I purchased a whole bottle of that ink and still think it is fantastic. This week, I'm reviewing another KWZ ink color: Brown Pink. I purchased a sample of this ink from Vanness Pens for $2.00.
Brown Pink is an unusual color and that's why I wanted to try some. Although it's called "brown pink," the color looks more like dusty mauve rather than brown. Chromatography distributes the colors in two shades: pink and blue.
In my testing, I found the ink to be wet with fairly lengthy dry times.
The photograph makes the ink look more purple/pink than it is. It is a dusty mauve.
It shades well with flex nibs, but exhibits no shading with my medium Franklin-Christoph SIG nib. It is not waterproof.
I did some ink splats to check for sheen and found absolutely none with this ink. Although the ink actually looks brown in the splats it also seems very flat. I'm not sure how else to describe it other than "flat." The ink (in the splats) lies thick on the paper much like paint. Not all inks have sheen, so this isn't necessarily a negative strike against the ink. But I did find its flatness strange.
Like KWZ Honey, Brown Pink has a distinct odor to it. I explained the odor in my last KWZ review, so I won't reiterate that here other than to say that the smell is normal.
I like KWZ Brown Pink in spite of the fact that it is a muted, flat color. It is different from any other ink color I've tried. Most burgundy/plum inks are bright and showy. This one is understated, and that makes it unique and adaptable to most tasks. While I wouldn't use an ink like Iroshizuku Yama Budo for writing a business letter, KWZ Brown Pink would probably be acceptable. It's a great ink for journaling (I've used it quite a bit the last week in my journal and love how it looks on Tomoe River Paper) and general writing.
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KWZ Brown Pink on Tomoe River Paper
